The present invention relates to portable terminal device for transmitting image data via a network and to an image processing device for performing an image processing based a recognition result of received image data.
This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No.9-55781, filed Mar. 11, 1997 and Japanese Patent Application No.9-65746, filed Mar. 19, 1997, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
In recent digitalized society, various documents and drawings, especially for business, are handled in an electronic form. In some cases, it is desired to store information as an electronic file even if the content is no more than memos.
In the most general method for generating an electronic document, an application program for documentation is started on a personal computer and a person who is making a document inputs information character by character through a keyboard. In the most general method for generating an electronic drawing, an application program for drawing is started and a person who makes drawings inputs data for the drawing through a keyboard and a mouse device.
Recently, electronic cameras have come into wide use. An electronic camera reads image data of an object to generate digital data. If the electronic camera is connected to a personal computer or the like via a predetermined interface, the image data read by the electronic camera can be processed by that personal computer. Therefore, by reading a document written on paper with an electronic camera, inputting image data read by the electronic camera to a personal computer or the like, and executing character recognition processing, the document written on paper can be converted into an electronic file.
An electronic file is generally formed by using a keyboard and a mouse. In specific cases, image recognition processing is carried out on image data read by using an image scanner.
However, it cannot always be said that the manipulation using the keyboard or mouse is easy for all users. There are also users who are not good at this type of manipulation . Furthermore, in the case where the content of a memo is to be converted into an electronic file, it is necessary to activate an application program for editing documents and then start the manipulation each time key input is needed. This is troublesome whereas handwriting can be done in a short time.
On the other hand, in the method of imaging a written content on paper or the like by using an electronic camera or the like, it is difficult to input only a necessary area and there is a high possibility that a document other than a document desired to be subjected to image recognition is also input. In this case, it becomes necessary to display image data read by camera on a personal computer display and specify an image recognition area, or amending a document obtained as an image recognition result. This is also troublesome.
In the above described method using an electronic camera, image data obtained at a remote location (such as a business trip destination) cannot be converted into an electronic file immediately on that site if a user does not carry an electronic camera and a notebook computer or the like. Furthermore, a character recognition software of good performance is in general large in program size. It is not desirable to install such a large size program on a simple portable terminal or the like.
Furthermore, in recent years, an electric mail (e-mail) is rapidly coming into wide use for business use and for individual use. The e-mail has a wide range of applications ranging from, for example, a small scale inter-office mail system for transmitting liaison matters in a LAN (local area network) to such a system that an e-mail is sent to a desired other party located in all over the world via the Internet.
When transmitting an e-mail, usually the user inputs a document to be transmitted and a destination address by using keys and thus writes a letter. Then the user sends out the letter to the network by clicking, for example, a xe2x80x9ctransmissionxe2x80x9d button on an e-mail application. Or in some cases, the document to be transmitted is obtained by scanning sentences printed on paper or the like as image data by means of an image scanner or the like and executing character recognition processing on the image data, instead of inputting the document to be transmitted. Upon receiving a letter (actually a packet storing the letter), the network transmits that letter to the destination specified by the user in accordance with a destination address set in that letter.
When transmitting e-mail, usually a character string input by the user by means of keys or information at least converted to a string of character codes is sent out to the network. The destination address is input by the user.
There are strong demands for a simple interface in use of e-mail. For example, there are a lot of users who desire to input a string of characters by using a method other than the key input. In a form known as the character input method other than the key input, handwriting characters on the display screen of a terminal device with a special pen. In some cases, however, it is difficult to draw fine patterns. When it is desired to send a content already written on paper or the like as it is as an e-mail, it becomes necessary to input the content again by using the special pen and this is troublesome. Furthermore, there are a lot of scenes in which the user sends an e-mail from the movement destination by using a portable terminal. Even if a character string written on paper or the like is taken in as image data by using some means, however, the content thus taken in cannot be sent as an e-mail document provided that the portable terminal does not have software for character recognition. In general, character recognition software of good performance has a large program size. It is not desirable to install such program on a simple portable terminal or the like.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a data transmitting/receiving device capable of transmitting an e-mail having a simple structure and with easy operation.
According t o the present invention, there is provided a host device for a system connecting various terminals via a network, comprising means for receiving data including image data transmitted from a terminal and executing character recognition on information of transmission destination contained in the image data; and means for transmitting information to be transmitted included in the received data to a terminal of transmission destination obtained by the character recognition.
According to the present invention, there is provided a portable terminal device comprising means for reading, as an image, data indicating transmission destination and transmission data so as to be distinguishable from each other; means for inputting the image data thus read and processing instruction for the image data; and means for transmitting the image data and the command indicating the processing instruction to a host device connected to a network.
According to the present invention, a document including a desired handwritten memo or the like is taken in as image data by a camera included in a portable terminal, and that handwritten memo or the like can be converted to an electronic file by only requesting a host device to perform recognition processing. In this way, the present invention provides a user interface improved in manipulation performance. The image is recognized by extracting only a region inside a closed loop pattern, a region including an underlined character string, or a region including a pattern drawn with a specific color. As a result, only required information is recognized accurately.
Furthermore, in the present invention, a handwritten memo or the like can be simply transmitted to a desired other party as an e-mail or a fax by taking in a document including a desired character string as image data with a camera or the like included in a portable terminal and requesting a necessary service to the host device. In this way, the present invention provides a user interface improved in manipulation performance.
Furthermore, since image data processing required to be performed at high speed, especially pattern recognition processing and character recognition processing are not executed on the side of the portable terminal, it is possible to obtain a result of sophisticated image data processing without providing a large capacity memory or a high performance processor.
Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the present invention.
The objects and advantages of the present invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.